Native American – State of Healthhttps://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth
KQED Public Media for Northern CAFri, 09 Dec 2016 20:01:11 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.2A New Generation Competes in Traditional Games to Preserve Washoe Culturehttps://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2016/08/09/a-new-generation-competes-in-traditional-games-to-preserve-washoe-culture/
https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2016/08/09/a-new-generation-competes-in-traditional-games-to-preserve-washoe-culture/#respondTue, 09 Aug 2016 15:08:33 +0000http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=221443Lisa Enos looked out over an athletic field at the Dresslerville Reservation in Gardnerville, Nevada. On a lawn yellowed by the sun with a backdrop of the Sierra Nevada mountains, a group of young men played a game. It looked like soccer, except the ball was made of buckskin, and the goals were marked with Aspen trees jutting from the ground. The game was “Baloyap,” a traditional game of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, and it hadn’t been played there in over 50 years.

That recent day marked the first ever “Traditional Washoe Pastimes,” a series of games and events organized by Washoe language teacher Enos and her colleagues.

The purpose of the August 4 event was not just to have fun. It was about preserving a culture, a language, and as some studies indicate, emotional wellbeing.

Turning to the Baloyap game, Enos explained the rules. “The boys can only kick the ball with their feet and they’re trying to get the ball through the post here.” Later in the day, girls joined in.

“Girls are the only ones that can use their hands. They can pick up the ball and run with it through the goalposts,” Enos said. “But a boy can pick up a girl and run her through a goalie if she’s holding a ball.”

Then Enos got emotional. “Our grandfathers had played it and that generation previous. But this is the first time this generation of kids has played this game,” Enos said.

Piecing together the rules

Since Enos had never seen the game played in real life, she and other game organizers pieced together the Baloyap rules by asking Washoe elders and people from other tribes in California who the Washoe used to compete with.

Then there was Sagayuk, a women’s only game. Two teams went head-to-head on a field. Each player carried a nearly eight foot long aspen stick. They whacked at what looks like a piece of rope, trying to get it into a goal. In Washoe the rope is called a rabbit or a snake.

There are about 1,500 Washoe these days. The Washoe have been based around Lake Tahoe and the Sierra for thousands of years. The land where they once lived was vast, stretching hundreds of miles around the pristine lake. The name Tahoe was derived from Washoe: “Da ow aga,” meaning “the edge of the lake.”

Like most indigenous people, the Washoe were gravely mistreated when settlers came West. Even within the last century, members were sent to boarding schools that did not allow them to practice their own customs, and forced them to only speak English.

Enos estimates that fewer than 20 people are fluent in Washoe now. So it’s events like this that are essential to continuing Washoe traditions.

Keeping tradition alive to save lives

Beyond this, studies show the mental health of indigenous people is impacted by their tribe’s ability to retain language and culture.

“These studies show that youth suicide is much lower in communities that are making strong attempts to keep their language going,” said Leanne Hinton, professor emerita of linguistics at University of California, Berkeley.

For the Washoe, these efforts are headed by people like Enos and language teacher Herman Fillmore, who, back at the Traditional Washoe Pastimes, instructed kids how to play Hinoyowgi. It’s a hand game that mixes in both rhythm and song. While the kids have played this before, Fillmore added in a twist for the big day.

Herman Fillmore (upper right) teaches young Washoe kids how to play the game Hinoyowgi in Gardnerville, Nevada. This game incorporates rhythm and song. (Laura Klivans/KQED)

“The reason why we have all these sticks and everything playing on the ground is that this is how we would play a long time ago,” he said.

Fillmore incorporated Washoe words into the game whenever possible. Before even starting, he reminded the young people what to call the sticks, bones and other tools they play with.

This technique was an intentional one that follows the theory that it’s easier to learn language when it’s associated with an action. It’s called total physical response.

As the Hinoyowgi game continued, the group began to sing songs specific to the game as they tapped smaller sticks onto a log, creating a beautiful rhythm.

Speaking the language of Washoe

Benny Fillmore watched his son Herman teach. The elder Fillmore moved his lips slightly as he sang along.

He didn’t grow up speaking Washoe regularly. “To know that you have this whole internal way of belief, way of thought, way of prayer that you’re not able to vocalize, you’re not able to use,” Fillmore said, “It’s like missing a body part. You’re not complete.”

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), half of the world’s 6000 languages will go extinct by the end of the century. This tribe doesn’t want their language, Washoe, to be one of them.

They’re implementing many strategies to combat language loss. In the 1990s they had an immersion school. More recently they put together a language-focused head start program. The Traditional Washoe Pastimes was their latest effort.

Over 100 people came for the Traditional Washoe Pastimes. At the closing awards ceremony, Lisa Enos got teary.

“These games you guys have been playing today have been played for thousands and thousands of years on this very ground,” she said.

Kids glowed as their names were called and they were handed flags and ribbons as prizes. But Enos reminded them that really the event wasn’t about the awards. It was about the Washoe coming together.

]]>https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2016/08/09/a-new-generation-competes-in-traditional-games-to-preserve-washoe-culture/feed/0RS20604_Buckberries-qutMelanie Smokey brought buck berries to the Traditional Washoe Pastimes to educate youth about the natural foods Washoe eat. Smokey dries the berries and later makes pudding or jelly.RS20606_Hinowyowgi-qutHerman Fillmore (upper right) teaches young Washoe kids how to play the game Hinoyowgi in Gardnerville, Nevada. This game incorporates rhythm and song.Lake County Native Americans Learn Power of Exercise to Fight Diabeteshttps://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/11/03/lake-county-native-americans-learn-power-of-exercise-to-fight-diabetes/
https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/11/03/lake-county-native-americans-learn-power-of-exercise-to-fight-diabetes/#respondTue, 03 Nov 2015 16:34:37 +0000http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=102167Johnny Gonzales kneels next to his client, Jorje Mendez, who is struggling through the last set of pushups at the gym.

“Give me eight of them!” says Gonzales, 59. “Be strict. This is where all the gains are made right here. If you can do this, you can do anything!”

It’s a pretty typical gym in an atypical setting. Gonzales works with patients of the Lake County Tribal Health Clinic, and the gym is within the clinic itself.

Patients diagnosed with prediabetes who enroll in a program to lose weight are eligible for work with Gonzales — free of charge.

The clinic, which targets members of the six local Pomo tribes in the county, also offers classes on healthy eating and other lifestyle changes that can reduce the risk of diabetes.

Trainer Johnny Gonzales coaches Jorje Mendez through a set of exercises at Lake County Tribal Health Consortium. Increasing physical activity is a key goal of the clinic’s diabetes prevention program. (Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED)

Mendez, 33, an accountant and father of five, was a cross-country champion at Clear Lake High during his younger days, but settled into a more sedentary lifestyle that involved “eating a lot — and [drinking] a lot of alcohol.” His weight ballooned to 300 pounds.

He decided to join the clinic’s program after he was diagnosed as prediabetic. Grueling sessions with Gonzales three times a week have helped him lose over 45 pounds, he says.

Access to this gym and Gonzales’ training sessions are a game changer for patients like Mendez, who wouldn’t be able to afford it otherwise. In Lake County, a quarter of the population lives below the federal poverty level, and the median household income of $36,548 is much lower than the statewide average.

The clinic’s local efforts target a rapidly growing disease among Native Americans, who are twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes compared with non-Hispanic whites, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Indian Health Service. Particularly alarming is the impact of the disease among Native young people ages 10 to 19. That population is nine times more likely to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes than non-Hispanic white children.

Gonzales, who has worked with the Lake County Tribal Health Consortium since 2002, says that reality requires immediate attention.

“We are seeing it. We have kids that are 12 years old that weigh 240, 250. So they are candidates for diabetes,” says Gonzales. “When you see a 12-year-old kid that is prediabetic, that is pretty sad. A lot of it is lack of education to that kid, or their parents just don’t know.”

Gonzales, a former Marine, says Native American communities in Lake County face challenges that make them susceptible to diabetes. He has witnessed how lack of physical activity and healthy foods can take a toll in people’s bodies.

“A lot of aching and pains weren’t due to injuries. It’s because they were inactive,” says Gonzales of clients living at Big Valley Rancheria, one of the local Pomo reservations. “Their challenge is trying to eat healthy. On this reservation and some of the other reservations, it’s not the healthiest food.”

Johnny Gonzales shows off a food guide for patients in the Lake County Tribal Health clinic diabetes prevention program. He recommends that clients stay away from processed foods and ‘get off the couch.’ (Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED)

Even with those challenges, Gonzales remains evangelical about the healing powers of physical activity. It’s a deep-seated belief stemming from his personal experience after he hurt his back while working as a welder. Doctors told him he couldn’t do construction work anymore and recommended surgery. At the time, Gonzales balked at the procedure and chose instead to swim and exercise to strengthen his back.

“I noticed that when I was active I didn’t hurt nearly as bad, but when I wasn’t active I hurt all the time,” says Gonzales. “I didn’t want to depend on meds all the time, so I had to be active. That’s when I started pursuing becoming a trainer.”

Gonzales tells his clients that physical activity and perseverance are great medicines to combat diabetes and other ills. That helps him stay optimistic while on his job, which includes leading exercise workshops at nearby reservations. Participants often crowd the training, he says, though at other times nobody shows up. That doesn’t dampen his passion for the job.

“Things tend to move a little slow in native country. Sometimes we just have to take baby steps,” he says. “And as a provider, you can’t give up or they give up themselves.”

]]>https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/11/03/lake-county-native-americans-learn-power-of-exercise-to-fight-diabetes/feed/0RS17291_IMG_9342.JPG-qutTrainer Johny Gonzales coaches Jorje Mendez through a set of exercises at Lake County Tribal Health Consortium. Increasing physical activity is a key goal of the clinic's diabetes prevention program.RS17292_IMG_9344.JPG-qut (1)Johny Gonzales shows off a food guide for patients in the Lake County Tribal Health clinic diabetes prevention program. He recommends clients to stay away from processed foods and to "get off the couch."Native American Teenagers Promote Sports to Tackle Substance Abusehttps://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/10/14/native-american-teenagers-promote-sports-to-tackle-substance-abuse/
https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/10/14/native-american-teenagers-promote-sports-to-tackle-substance-abuse/#commentsWed, 14 Oct 2015 15:05:33 +0000http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/?p=90092Tj Keeya Talamoni-Marcks walks off the field with sweat dripping from his forehead, as more than 20 other Clear Lake High School students finish their grueling football practice in temperatures that reached over 90 degrees.

Clear Lake’s Cardinals are getting ready to play against Colusa High in a few days, and Talamoni-Marcks, a tackle and guard, holds his helmet with one hand and makes a beeline for the water fountain while limping. He recently recovered from a toe injury, and complains about pain in his foot. Still, he shrugs it off, saying pain and visible bruises on his arms are “part of the game.”

Sports are a source of pride for Talamoni-Marks and his family, of Pomo Indian and Samoan descent. The 15-year-old wants to follow in his parents’ footsteps — his mom was a basketball star and his dad “running back of the year” at Clear Lake High, the only high school in Lakeport, about 120 miles north of San Francisco.

“Sports keep me away from drugs and alcohol. They keep me healthy,” he says. “I want to get other Natives healthier too, and I think sports could be the way.”

His teammate and childhood friend, Rodrigo Lupercio, agrees heartily.

For both teenagers, sports have become an inspiration to tackle a bigger challenge than any football match: substance abuse among Pomo Indian communities in Lake County.

Nationwide, Native Americans are more likely to die of alcohol-related causes such as chronic liver disease and fatal motor crashes involving alcohol than any other ethnic group in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control. Native Americans also have very high rates of cigarette smoking compared to whites, blacks, Hispanics or Asians.

Lupercio, from the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians, has witnessed the toll of alcohol and tobacco use on his grandfather. The two are very close. They used to play baseball and “always have a good time” together, he says. But now, Lupercio, just 14, fears the worst.

“He shakes a lot and has a hard time walking. Because he drank so much throughout all of his life, it became part of his system. He needs it,” said Lupercio. “It makes me sad because I know I won’t be seeing him in a couple of years.”

Talamoni-Marcks tries to convince his mother to quit smoking after seeing another smoker, his former karate teacher, have to breathe through a hole in his throat. The lesson?

“I don’t think I would ever,” he says of smoking. “I hate it. (My mother) is addicted to it, and I hate to see her like that.”

Last summer, the two teenagers took their views on addiction a step further. As part of their applications to a native youth health summit in Washington, D.C., they wrote essays on ways to improve the health of their communities.

The National Indian Health Board, a non-profit representing tribal governments organizing the summit, selected them along with 28 others to meet with staff members for the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and discuss their ideas.

Lupercio spoke of seeking greater participation in sports at the Big Valley Rancheria, the reservation where he’s spent most of his life.

“Down in the reservation, I’d say all Indians should have their own sports teams. I think that would get them active, and they wouldn’t want to do drugs. They’d just want to just do sports,” he said.

“Give them water rather than beer, don’t let them smoke there. And just have a fun game, while keeping healthy,” said Talamoni-Marcks.

The teenagers also want a rehab and wellness center for youth and adults within their tribal communities, and greater educational opportunities that will lead to better jobs. The unemployment rate for Native Americans was almost double the national rate in 2013, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Talamoni-Marcks and Lupercio hope their meeting in Washington with the Senate staffers will eventually bring much needed resources to change the health outcomes in their communities. They believe that advocacy can make a difference. But if that takes too long, they dream of another path that does not involve the federal budget.

“I want to play professional sports to help my family, to help my community, to come back and donate money while doing stuff I love to do,” said Talamoni-Marcks.

For Lupercio, who wants to become a professional football player, the most important thing now is emotional support for his grandfather.

“I just want to say, ‘I love you grandpa, and you’ll always be in my heart,’ ” he said.

]]>https://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2015/10/14/native-american-teenagers-promote-sports-to-tackle-substance-abuse/feed/3IMG_9368Rodrigo Lupercio plays football, basketball and baseball at Clear Lake High. He says more physical activity through sports at Indian reservations could decrease substance abuse.